1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to vehicle and utility covers, specifically, an improved design that can be deployed and stored in seconds, and is, therefore, truly practical for everyday use.
2. Description of Prior Art
Many varied designs of car covers exist, offering protection from dirt, heat, ultraviolet damage, and prying eyes. A car cover is essential to protect against the intense heat created by the greenhouse effect. This heat can melt plastics such as CDs, laser discs, and cassettes, and can dry out, and crack upholstery, and dashboards. Air-conditioning is ineffective with this heat for the first several minutes. In colder climates a cover can prevent ice from adhering to windows.
Existing designs have numerous features such as suction cups, hook and loop type fasteners, straps, locking devices, vents, flaps, weighted flaps or hollow sleeves, zippers, pockets, mounting clips, drawstrings, hooks, stowage bags, and various methods of deployment, including rollers. These features are presumably intended to make the car cover more convenient or useful. However, existing covers are cumbersome and take too much time to deploy. They are rarely used except for long-term storage.
Very few drivers bother to cover their car even though they desire the advantages offered by a car cover. Many drivers have a cover in their trunk which they purchased when their car was new, but they do not use them. The problem is the difficulty and time it takes to deploy and secure the cover after parking, and then the time and inconvenience to remove and stow the cover prior to departure. Most drivers would rather suffer in the heat for a ten-minute drive and ignore the damage to their car and its contents. They do not want to spend the time it takes to uncover, then recover at the restaurant, then uncover and recover again back at work. None of the existing designs are convenient enough for the average person to keep their car covered during a normal day.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,842,324 (Carden, 1989) discloses a cover for the cab portion with tubular members along the perimeter that are held in place with, wipers, windows and the trunk lid, to provide security and a tight fit. Such a cover would require numerous sizes to fit properly, and is time consuming to deploy. To secure the tubular member in a window requires reentering the vehicle and then securing the flap that allows the re-entry. Tension from wind blowing the cover could damage the wiper arms.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,490,707 (De La Cruz, 1996) discloses an automobile sunshield that has small apertures to release wind pressure from inside the sunshield. The sunshield is fastened on to the automobile with suction cups. A security band and lock secure the sunshield to the automobile. This cover must be oriented properly and is difficult to deploy. A lock must be fussed with to secure it.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,364,156 (Zerow, 1994) is constructed to fit a standard auto or truck. It features a top, a back, a front, and two sides attached to each other by means of an elasticized accordion connector at each vertical edge. The lower horizontal edges of the front, back, and side flaps are hollowed out and have a cylindrical compartment. This cylindrical compartment may be filled with gravel or such, thus providing weight to the:cover. With the cylindrical compartment filled with gravel or sand, it would be difficult to maneuver this cover over the vehicle or fold it for stowage.
Most of the above mentioned covers are nearly impossible for one person to deploy quickly, especially if the person is not tall. Unless the cover is folded and stowed very carefully, it is difficult to properly orient the cover prior to deployment. This is time consuming and inconvenient.
Several types of car covers have been proposed to simplify deployment. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,029,933 (Gillem, 1991), 5,328,230 (Churchod, 1994) and 5,597,197 (Mower et. al., 1997), all define trunk-mounted means of deployment. Each requires that the cover be threaded through the opening, which is created between the raised edge of the trunk lid and the rear windshield prior to each deployment and pulled back through the same opening for stowage. This action is awkward at best and largely negates the benefit of having one end permanently attached to the vehicle. Each can be easily tangled. Stowage is more awkward because the attachment to the trunk lid impedes pulling or pushing the cover back into the trunk. The attachment also makes it nearly impossible to fold the cover while stowed. Curchod and Mower provide pouches but stuffing the cover into the pouch requires even more time. Each occupies considerable trunk space. Neither would be appropriate for a hatchback, certain sports utility vehicles or a pick-up truck.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,597,196 (Gibbs, 1997) is an example of a costly spring-biased roller deployment system that is mounted inside the trunk, about the axis of the axle. Attached to the roller at one end and the axle at another end are a spring means. The purpose is for the operator to pull the cover from the roller and attach it to the end of the auto opposite from the trunk and secure it to the bumper. The installation and labor for this system is unduly complicated and expensive. The utility of the trunk is significantly reduced because the roller spans the width of the trunk. While the trunk mount designs attempt to address the problem of deployment, all are unduly complicated.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,123,468 (Mater, Jr., 1992) provides a windshield only cover that has just one pair of handles (20) which are used to engage the door and door frame so as not to pull through between them when the door is closed. Mater""s handles are made of ABS plastic, which is very hard and not very energy absorbing. No one would want to throw hard ABS plastic against an expensive car, unless he wished to do it harm. Mater""s handles cannot be easily stacked together because of their shape. Even if held together, they would not form a spindle that would be easy around which to wind a cover.
De La Cruz (5,490,707) provides a cover that covers the cab portion of a vehicle, with a plurality of apertures to release wind pressure, suction cups for fastening the cover to the vehicle and a security band, sleeve, and lock to secure the cover to the rear view mirrors. De La Cruz teaches the use of vent holes (116, 118, 122, 124, 126, 128, 132, 134) to help prevent the cover (100) from coming out of contact with the car. De La Cruz""s vent holes are fixed, open apertures, allowing UV and the elements through. De La Cruz does not disclose any type of weights, nor does he describe any means of deployment.
There is no prior art car cover that can be thrown over a vehicle.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,242,206 (Heck, 1993) provides an inflatable hail blanket, similar to an air mattress that cushions the impact of hail. Heck teaches that some undescribed weights can be attached to the cover, where his straps are located, as an alternate means of securement, as does U.S. Pat. No. 4,979,339 (Jones et al., 1990). Neither anticipates said weights facilitating deployment, nor would either""s weights be suitable for deployment of a cover.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,960,193 (Davis, 1976) provides a rectangular weighted picnic table cloth with small weights in each corner to resist motion from wind or a person moving along a side of the table. While Davis teaches the use of weights in conjunction with a tablecloth, Davis does not suggest ballistic deployment since Davis teaches that the table cloth is draped over the tabletop.
All of the prior art vehicle covers are inconsistent with the basic function of the automobile, which, by itself, is a model of convenience that drivers have come to expect. One can unlock the door, climb in, start the engine, and drive away. all in a matter of seconds. In even less time, one can park, exit, and lock it. By contrast, all prior-art vehicle covers are inconvenient. They take much longer to deploy and stow than arriving or departing in a vehicle, and they all require significant stature, strength and dexterity on the part of the driver, and, perhaps, even a helper. This inconvenience is unacceptable to nearly all drivers. This is why the prior art vehicle covers are almost never used by the general public, except for long-term storage.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an easy to manage cover with a method of deployment so quick and easy, that it is practical to cover and protect a vehicle each time it is parked. Further objects and advantages are: to provide a quick and easy method to secure said cover, to provide a quick and easy method to remove said cover, and, to provide a quick and easy method to store said cover.
Additional objects and advantages are:
(1) to provide said cover with light-weight, highly UV and AIR reflective, water and ice resistant fabric and light-weight; to provide easily handled weights that are rigid enough that a rapid thrust imparts adequate energy to them, so that they are propelled ballistically, instantly carrying the cover over many types of vehicles, such that even a short person can quickly cover a tall vehicle such as a motor-home;
(2) to provide energy absorbing qualities to said weights so that they will not damage the vehicle when they are deployed;
(3) to provide said weights with a special padding that minimizes impact noise so that they are perceived to be safe;
(4) to provide said weights with added friction to help anchor the cover;
(5) to provide said weights with a shape that makes it possible to stack all four of them together and hold them with one hand, forming a spindle around which to easily wind the cover, for storage, keeping the weights organized for the next deployment;
(6) to provide a means to remove said weights so the cover can be machine-washed;
(7) to provide a design that makes it possible to lock one or more weights inside the doors of the vehicle, to protect the cover from theft, and weights that will not be damaged, or damage the vehicle, if accidentally slammed in the door frame;
(8) to provide color-coded hand and jet symbols on the weights, making it obvious which are held, which are thrown and which are held in the left and right hands;
(9) to provide weights that can act like an invisible helper on the other side of the car to pull the cover into perfect position;
(10) to provide a storage strap that easily secures the cover when it is coiled;
(11) to provide (a) additional means of securing the cover with suction cups, hook and loop straps, and grommets, and, (b) automatic self-closing vents to allow trapped air to escape, especially when the cover is coiled for storage;
(12) to provide heavy-duty weights for very large covers.
Still further objects and advantages will become apparent from a consideration of the ensuing description and accompanying drawings.